Wright State University kicked off the We Love WSU Fitness Challenge on Friday, Jan. 24 to motivate students to embrace fitness and have fun along the way. Running through Feb. 22, participants will "travel" to Spring Break destinations by converting exercise minutes into miles through various on-campus activities like fitness classes and rock climbing.
What is the fitness challenge?
The We Love WSU Fitness Challenge is a new event that the Campus Recreation center is putting on to promote fitness and exercise with a fun twist.
The idea behind the event is to pick a travel destination you would like to go to for Spring Break, total the amount of miles from WSU to the location and workout as long as it would take to get there. One minute of exercise equals one mile of your trip.
In years past, WSU has had an event called the Fitbull Challenge. The challenge was based on major football games that took place, but the exercise part remains the same. The point of both events is just to get students to be more active.
Exercising does not just have to be lifting weights in the gym, there are a number of different ways on campus to stay active including the gym, the pool, the rock climbing center, pickleball courts, hiking trips, dance classes and more.
“Whether you enjoy working out in our fitness center or prefer hiking through the Grand Canyon, we have something for you,” the campus recreation website reads.
Importance of staying active
Consistently exercising is an important part of life, although it is about more than just physical health. It can positively affect other aspects of daily life as well.
Billy Willis, the Associate Director of Campus Recreation, talked about the different ways he hopes this challenge will benefit students.
“Studies have shown being more physically active is linked to students having higher GPAs, graduating early and getting better jobs after college. It’s said that the top three medicines for preventing mental health issues are exercise, diet and sleep,” Willis said.
There is a big link between physical health and mental health and it is important to know WSU has other resources outside the Counseling and Wellness center.
Sara Baker, the wellness and health program manager, has been working to help students learn about the challenge and the ways it can benefit them.
“My role has been to support the implementation of the challenge and to help spread the word to staff, faculty and students,” Baker said.
Fitness opportunities
As students move through the challenge over the next month, there are lots of group exercise classes being led on campus for fitness to help students reach their destinations.
Some of these classes include pickleball, basketball, volleyball, pilates, ballet, yoga, cycling, boxing, HIIT and more. To see all the available options, be sure to go to the campus recreation website.
In addition to this, there will be group tunnel walks led every Wednesday by a different club or campus organization.
“Each week we'll have a different sponsor who will make the route for that week’s walk. That way we can add some variety to the walks while raising awareness about the different organizations on campus,” Willis said.
Most people end up quitting their New Year’s Resolutions around the third week of January, and with Healthy Heart Month right around the corner in February, WSU thought this was the perfect time to encourage students to get active.
